Thursday’s Children: Inspired by Kind Words

First off, let me just say I’m sorry for coming so late to the party, and for being such a rule breaker. When I was in grade school, this used to drive my teachers absolutely nuts. So if I haven’t done so already, let me thank Rhiann Wynn-Nolet for being kind enough to invite me to participate in the weekly blog-hop, Thursday’s Children. And also, for being patient with me while I gradually–and some what grudgingly–learn to follow the rules and format these posts correctly. 0_O

Today’s TC post starts with a confession. Up until yesterday, I was struggling. In other words, I had a serious problem with my Writer Mojo. It happens sometimes, more often than us wordsmiths like to admit. (And just between us, I like to think it happens to everybody. Kind of like literary ED.) But this wasn’t my usual ‘oh my god I don’t think I have the stamina and/or sanity to go on’ kind of slump. This was more like a ‘this is totally new territory for me, and I’m pretty sure I have no idea what I’m doing’ / ‘crisis of confidence’ slump. For a few days, I’d genuinely started to feel like maybe I was playing in the wrong sandbox. Without going into too much detail, I felt wildly out of my comfort zone, because I’m writing in a new genre. Which is weird, because my comfort zone is probably the size of several football fields by now, at least.

Anyway, yesterday something cool happened. A fellow writer, who I’ve never met–and who up until yesterday didn’t follow me on twitter or read this blog–told me she liked my voice. Gave me a few other compliments on my writing. Nothing earth-shattering, by most people’s definition. And yet, that was all it took to pluck me out of my slump and drop me back on solid ground, where I promptly let loose with an enthusiastic battle cry. Without realizing it, this fellow writer saved the day for me.

The moral of the story, kids? If you’re a writer, spread the love around.

And on that same note, don’t spread around negative energy. Think about how it feels to be you, on your worst day. Seriously. We aren’t a subset that really needs a whole lot of extra harsh criticism, since we tend to deal with rejection and self-doubt on a daily basis, just by nature of being writers in the first place. So don’t make snarky comments about other people’s work–of which I am ashamedly guilty in several past instances–and don’t post overly harsh reviews on Goodreads or Amazon. But more importantly, if you read something you like, tell the author you liked it. If a book is awesome or there’s even a small part that hit you like…wow. Spread the word. Tell your friends. In the long run, you’ll only be helping yourself. And people who are–deep down–EXACTLY like you.

Has there ever been a time when another writer saved YOUR bacon? (Metaphorically, or otherwise?)

Here’s the Linky Code. I’ve tested it on my old Blogger blog and it works there too.

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9 thoughts on “Thursday’s Children: Inspired by Kind Words”

Haha. No apologies needed. The Linky thing is challenging. I think it’s funny (funny/awesome not funny/haha) that you and I hit on a very similar inspiration this week. And I am so glad you got launched out of your writerly crisis – go get that genre! yeehaw.

Oh, the power of positive response. Yes, I’ve been there. In the oh-my-God-what-am-I-doing-here place. And I had another writer say, “Oooh, I like this”, which meant I stayed, instead of running away. Absolutely love this post!! 🙂

I’m totally with you – I am inspired daily by the encouraging things other writers from all over the world (or the few that visit my blog) say to me. Just remember for every person who doesn’t get you – many more will. In my real life writing group (of three) – every book we read pulls out a different reaction. Usually one of us will love it, one of us will enjoy it – but not enough to trumpet from the rooftops and the other one will think meh. It’s all about taste – and there are only 3 of us.

But like you, I only post reviews on books I actually enjoy, and even writing that doesn’t do it for me – usually has something good going for it. Enjoy your sandbox – it’s a great place to play!

But yeah. Seeing as how the subjectivity of liking something or not is a given, there will always be people you don’t “get” your work, and those that do. And then those that really, really do. My strategy is to latch on to those that really really do and milk them for all the inspiration that it’s worth!

Don’t get down on yourself, and remember that it’s all just an experiment anyways — have fun with it!